The Ballad of Mother Radio

In 1970, when 98.5 WWOM went stereo, Billboard Magazine buried the Dec 5th issue headline on page 36 of the magazine. The article stated that WWOM had switched from easy listening to progressive rock on September 19th of that year and that they were imminently going stereo. The station had been simulcasting their AM side until that Fall. The article quoted program director Damion:

"The first month on the air broke even financially... from the reaction of the community and from record distributors, we are rapidly becoming one of the most talked about progressive music stations in the south."

It was perhaps over-optimistic, given how few progressive rock stations there were in the American South.  But Billboard did list happen to name four DJs out of the staff: Coburn, Jack Morris, Ernie Novello and Steve Ponty (aka Steve Pontious). Most of these DJs have all fallen into total obscurity. 

A lot of great DJs came though those doors. Hugh Dillard had left the station in 1969 for 99.5 WRNO-FM in New Orleans, which also flipped to progressive rock. Robert Bishop wasn't listed, but he was on WWOM in 1970, leaving for WDAI in 1971. Another DJ, K.C. Jones (aka Casey Jones; aka Charles Jones) was on WWOM in 1969 and departed in 1970 for WAJA. DJs like Charlie Matkin (1961), Stuart McRae(1967), and Jim Turner (1966) had all left the station before 1968. But most of that staff were on the AM side. We are strictly talking about FM here.

The original WWOM-AM had only signed on under the Southland Broadcasting Co., in 1950 on 600 kHz in 1950 originally as a daytimer. In 1958 it moved to the 940 frequency and became WYLD. A new station was then launched on 600 kHz with a beautiful music format andthe calls WWOM. Did I mention that WMRY was a "negro" station with an all-African-American staff?  [LINK] Anyway, in 1965, owner Dave Waagenvord launched 98.5 WWOM-FM. This was the station destined to become the progressive rock station "Mother Radio."  More here.
 

Sadly our progressive rock station didn't last long. On July first 1971 NOLA Express published some bad news. The station had been competing with the more pop leaning AOR station 99.5 WRNO-FM, among others and was making some budget-driven decisions.

"After some nine months of commercial complications, personality splits, financial instability and general programming difficulties, Mother Radio has departed the downtown premises of WWOM-FM for the healthier and heartier territory of St. Tammany Pariosh, specifically WVSL-FM in Slidell... The current staff consists of Bob Peale, Steve Pontious, George Miller, Mike (the Wizard) Copaz, and of course Roby.  Jack Morris has split and apparently Norbert Wabrig and John Larroquette felt that the Northern climes would be a bit too much for them. Mother in stereo country. 105.3, The highest signal on the FM dial. It's a good move. Don't miss it."

In May of 1971 Record world briefly wrote up the WWOM picnic, describing it's 8,000 attendees and just a few of the station staff: Jack Morris PD; Ernie Novello MD; and DJs John Laurecat, Bob Peale, Steve Pontious and Norbitt Wabbig [sic]. The misspellings there may be coincidental or deliberate. 

105.3 WVSL had only signed on in September of 1970. But their 350 ft tower in Slidell, didn't have a really great signal in New Orleans. It was a rimshot. This "flip" is how the station changed to progressive rock in late 1971; the progressive format of WWOM "Mother Radio" picked up kit and moved, bringing some of their air staff with them.  their coverage of New Orleans was poor to fair, but otherwise things continued on as they had, until June of 1973.

The details are spelled out in an unusual complain to the FCC bearing 33 signatures.  WVSL sponsored a drawing with a chance to win a windjammer cruise to the Bahamas, plus ten speed bicycles and other prizes. According the the FCC investigation and response, the contest was not authorized by the licensee. Consequently the acting manager and  the staff of the station who conducted the contest were fired. When the staff were fired, they destroyed whatever documentation they had for the selected winners. This made it impossible to complete the contest as planned. 

Furthermore it was the opinion of the radio stations attorney that re-doing the contest was "futile" as the format had changed and therefore the audience. It sounds suspicious and I'd like to know the rest of that story. But ultimately WVSL was sold to Security Broadcasting because of "severe financial losses" according to another complaint response by the FCC. The station then flipped to an MOR format simulcasting WSDL. 

Let's rewind a little. "Mother Radio" didn't' actually start on WWOM either. KFMK signed on in 1958 with a top 40 format, then flipped to classical music., then back to top 40 all by 1967. Then in 1968, they flipped to progressive rock with the brand "Mother Radio".  But in early 1969 they dropped the format and changed to a christian format. Purportedly KFMK was shut down at least partly due to pressure from the Houston police.

The Rice University newspaper, The Rice Thresher issue of April 3rd 1969 wrote that "mother radio is dead."

"KFMK left the air last Wednesday, to return as an 'easy-listenin' station. Those with the money (mf's) decided that Houston wasn't ready for a progressive-underground-hard rock radio stations. I hesitate to refute this raison de mourir because it's absurdity is so easily recognizable... What was the real reason that Mother died?  Perhaps it was the not-afraid-to-be-heard style of the editorials, and the controversial shows produced for the station by Pacifica... Be careful not to blame the announcers or the program director for the change  —they were simply 'released' with no notice at all..."

Urban legend states that the station was off air between the formats, intimating a real-deal "shut-down" of some duration. This is actually somewhat corroborated by the Mediatrix Houston report of 1987. It states plainly "Mother Radio was so underground that it eventually left the air in '69." Later that year, Crawford Broadcasting returned it to service, still with the KFMK call letters but this time with a Contemporary Christian format. More here and here.

But there is an air gap between the Mother Radio of Houston and the one in New Orleans. They share no staff except possibly Bob Peale. But it remains the godmother of both Mother Radio WWOM in New Orleans and KPFT, the Houston Pacifica station. So we are left with a string of names: Coburn, Jack Morris, Ernie Novello, Steve Pontious, Bob Peale, "Damion," George Miller, Mike Copaz, "Roby," Norbert Wabrig and John Larroquette [LINK]. 

We know about some of those names, but others I cannot even identify. Steve Pontious is still with us, Mike Copaz went on to WNOE, Bob Peale and Jack Morris went to WLOL in Houston, John Larroquette became an actor and won 4 Emmys. Ernie Novello died on April 20, 2013, he had left radio and been the manager of a record store in New Orleans: Mushroom and Record Connection. After that he had often been indigent or homeless in the years prior. His mysterious nickname "Head Slug" remains unexplained. More here.

DJ Adolph Hofner

Not that Adolph , the other Adolph.Originally billed as "Adolph And the Boys," they changed their name to Dolph Hofner and the San Antonians for obvious reasons. Some history books call it "anti-German hysteria" but I prefer to think of the anti-German sentiments of WWI as pretty understandable.

His musical career began in 1936 with a touring western band, Jimmie Revard and the Oklahoma Playboys. In 1938 he played with Tom Dickey's Show Boys and probably was on air at WDAI-AM. In 1939 the same band went back out on tour playing more western swing and even cut a couple sides for Columbia. After WWII Adolph began cutting more ethnic tunes, specializing in Czech music for Imperial records. In 1941, Hofner signed a recording contract with Okeh and began touring the Foreman Phillips chain of dance hall.  More here.

In 1950 he mixed it up and with a sponsorship from Pearl Beer, Hofner formed the "Pearl Wranglers" and worked a regular slot on KTSA-AM  in San Antonio. It aired on at Mondays at 5PM. He was already 34 and turning the corner of his musical career. (Foreman Phillips was a radioman himself and had a programs on KFOX, KRKD, KFWB, and KXLA.)  They got what they could out of a 15-minute spot every Sunday. It ended poorly by all reports and they did guest performances but never had a regular program again. The last broadcast show I found for them was on KENS-AM.

Hofner continued to record for the tiny Sarg label for another 20 years.  Their last release was in 1998, a post-humous, self-titled LP.  Dolph died in 2000. As you might expect he is a member of the Texas Polka Music Association Hall of Fame.

WDAI Disco Demolition Disaster

Disco Demolition Night combines things that like beer & liquor, like amonia & bleach, like neocons & power, cannot be mixed without dire and wildy destructive consequences.

It combines, beer, disco, radio, baseball and the police. It has thankfully only happened once in the annals of history. But it was a doosey.

Our story begins in 1978 as middle America's hatred of Disco was reaching a crescendo. ABC owned Rock radio station WDAI flipped to an all-disco format in December of 1978 and fired popular local morning show host Steve Dahl. Three months later Dahl crossed the street when WLUP made him an offer. But Dahl felt resentful toward WDAI. He hated disco with a passion, and now WDAI would be the focus point of that hate. He created a mock organization called "The Insane Coho Lips Anti-Disco Army" to oppose disco, and promoted it on the air.

His anti-disco antis were nonstop. The day after Van McCoy died of a heart attack he smashing up a copy of McCoy's million-selling single "The Hustle" over the air. At its peak, his anti-disco army claimed to have 7,000 card-carrying members. http://www.jahsonic.com/DiscoSucks.html

Dahl and his on-air partner Garry Meier devised a promotion that involved people bringing unwanted disco music records to the game in exchange for a reduced admission price of 98 cents. They woudl destroy the records at half-time in center field. The sports commentator on Dahl's show was White Sox promotions director Mike Veeck, and son the White Sox owner Bill Veeck. Veeck's father was an innovator in sport promotion, and was open to new ideas. Ultimately it was this trio that are responsible forwhat occurred on Disco Demolition Night.

This promotion encouraged attendees who were not "typical" baseball fans. Veeck was expecting an additional crowd of 5,000 but 50,000 turned out, with thousands of climbing walls and fences in order to get into Comiskey Park and others locked out of the park. Dahl's Anti-Disco Army had showed up in full force: an invasion of drunken, stoned, longhaired teens sporting rock band shirts, carrying their disco records and with signs and banners emblazoned with "Disco Sucks." Trouble arose before the first pitch was thrown. http://www.stevemandich.com/otherstuff/disco.htm

In 1979 the capacity of Comiskey Park's was under 45,000. Sox officials estimated the overflow audience at 55,000! Another 20,000 were turned away when the gates closed. Police had to block exit ramps from the nearby interstate to keep even more fans from pouring into the area. Despite the beefed-up police presence, some of those locked out began climbing the stadium's two-story chain-link fences and others rushed the turnstiles. It went bad. Ushers were beaten up as drunk disco-hatind men forced their way in. but the worst was yet to come. Apparently in all the preplanning it occurred to no one that records can be thrown like Frisbees, only with much greater distance and velocity.

The first game started at 5:30, and with it the first colley of records began. Fans hurled discs around the stands and onto the field, showering the ballpark in a hail of bad disco. Batboys and groundskeepers periodically ran onto the field to clear the debris, which only further incited the crowd

At half time Dahl came out to center field with a box of a few thousand disco records rigged with a bomb in a mock demolition of disco music. he conduscted a short ceremony. When it exploded, the bomb ripped a hole in the outfield grass surface and thousands of fans ran onto the field, some lighting their own fires and starting mini-riots. things degereated into chaos. Eventually the field was cleared by 80 police in riot gear. Six people reported minor injuries and 39 were arrested for disorderly conduct.

Steve Dahl, currently hosts an afternoon talk show on Chicago's WCKG. Bill Veeck, died in 1986 and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991. Mike Veeck has since been an owner of several minor league teams and continues to dream up nutty promotional schemes for baseball. PBS station WTTW-TV actually made a documentary of this event you can buy here: http://www.discodemolition.com/